History of Rultzven
.]]Rultzven has a long and detailed history. Origin myth Legend has it that Great Father Rultz was born in the plains of his land, son of Father Mountain and Mother River. He was the greatest of warriors, and learned how to conquer the trees and tame the beasts. His sword is said to have struck down all men and fiends who crossed him, and his liver is said to have sustained more alchohol than any man before or after him. He traveled only with his drinking partner, Golntz, a man from the northeastern lands that would later be known as Kezhang. The two had formed, over their drinks and through their bar-fights, a bond that was unbreakable, even by the hammer of the Godforge. It is said that, during their travels, Rultz and Golntz attempted to make the drink of the gods. The resulting drink was Vodka. It is said that they drank one bottle of their first brew, and hid the other away, for fear of drunken deities who might not lead them to victory quite so well. For thousands of years, the descendents of Father Rultz searched for this bottle, the Holy Ancient Vodka Artifact of Holiness. The search has since been dismissed as silly legend, but modern day holidays still are celebrated with mock searches for the artifact. Parents will often hide a bottle of the glorious drink in their back yard. Should the child find it successfully, he or she may drink it. If the child breaks it, the child is deeply shamed. Before the revolution, old-fashioned families who had such wasteful children had those children sent to the shame pit for three days with only a sack of potatoes and packs of wild dogs to fight off. He traveled far and wide, from the deepest valley to the highest mountain, claiming all he saw as his own. The old legends claim that he would have owned all the world by his winter years had he not been tamed by the first Rultzvenian woman, Yilimenthenes. It is said Yilimenthenes was created by the gods themselves. It is said they took the snows of Father Mountain, the lilies of the valley, the bears of the forest, the songs of the birds of the trees, and the waters of Mother River to create her. She was fair, fairer than any woman before, and strong. The lilies had become her flesh, the snow melted at her warmth and became her blood. The songs of the birds became her voice, the waters of Mother River became her heart, and from the bears she was granted her soul. Great Father Rultz saw her and desired her purity for himself immediately. He attempted to conquer her as he had conquered many women before, but found himself bested. But he persisted, his pride not allowing him to quit. Alas, the woman would not be wooed. It is said that he spent many years begging for her hand. Eventually she overcame his pride and conquered him, establishing herself as his equal in their relationship, and forcing him to make an honest woman of her and give up his days of conquest. He had with his wife three sons and two daughters. His sons were Irrulun, Rulnuts, and Tyugath. His daughters were Celeminiyz and Phosophonedes. Rultz was the envy of its neighbors, subject to constant attack. Each time, his opposition was struck down by his mighty blade. It is said that Golntz grew jealous of his friend's glory, and his wife. Legend states that Golntz fled to his homeland after an argument with Rultz, uniting the lands around his tiny nation to create Kezhang. Kezhang declared war on the lands of Rultz, and the two friends drew their blades in combat, according to legend. The battle lasted for 3 seasons, according to legend. The Rultzveni people say that Golntz landed a grazing hit with a poisoned knife just as Rultz landed a killing blow. Rultz wept at the death of his friend, and made it home before the poison took its full effects. On his death bed it is said the Great Father said this to his children: : "My youth, my children, my little babes! How much you have grown as your father was away fighting for honor and for you and your future. But how have you grown? Remember that the spear alone may break, but many spears binded will not. I have not been able to teach you, and O, that aches my heart on my moment of death, but remember that beyond all you must be comrades till the very end. Bring glory to our name, my children." He was buried in the snows of the greatest mountain, united at once with the earth of his father and the waters of his mother. His wife lived on, but was powerless in her old age to control the actions of her children. Unfortunately, the children of Great Rultz did not take after their father, each having a good quality and a bad to balance it out. Irrulun was cautious, but to the point of cowardice. Rulnuts was intelligent, but isolated himself frequently to study the things around him, and was prone to trechery. Tyugath was brave, but foolhardy. Celeminiyz was passionate, but unable to compromise. Phosophonedes was compassionate and kind, but incapable of defending herself. A conspiracy arose amongst the siblings. Rulnuts saw the flaws in his brothers and sisters and realized that they could never collectively rule. He formulated a gambit: He would trick Tyugath and Celeminiyz into believing Irrulun and Phosophonedes were plotting to cheat them out of their inheretence. Without a thought, Tyugath and Celeminiyz trusted their ill-willed brother confronted their siblings. The two innocents denied it fervently, but their hot-headed counterparts wouldn't accept the truth. They drew their swords and clashed as the conspirator watched from a nearby tree. He was sure they would kill each other in the fight, leaving him and him alone to rule the land. It is said that a hawk who saw only the souls of its prey saw Rulnuts sitting up in the tree and mistook him and his conspiring heart for that of a rat, rather than a man. It is said that the hawk tore the manipulator from the branches of the tree and dropped him upon the ground, killing the young man. The sword fight ended in a draw as all combatants grew tired. They took their families and moved, each of the remaining four taking a corner of the land. Thus began the fracture of the four tribes. The Great Fracture of the Four Tribes There were the eastern tribes of the Irrulyu, who lived upon the snowy peaks and believed heavily in ancestor worship. They remained most isolationist of all the nations, and their great stone forts still stand today in some isolated parts of the mountains. They were the first tribe to use the bow and arrow, earning a reputation as weak cowards. They began the Rultzveni burial tradition of putting the dead in the coldest of snows in hopes for the preservation of the body. There were the southern tribes of the Tyugalites, a proud warrior tribe, known for their courage in battle. They caused many of the wars in the valley, and were, at times, the only one of the tribes that resisted unification. Nonetheless, they produced many of Rultzven's greatest folkheroes, great warriors whose praises are sung to this very day. There were the western tribes of the Celemiyis. They were the first nation to establish a government and build cities. They believed that they could become greater than the very gods, if Rultz could unite. They created the first city, Moskuvitz, created the Rultzveni Orthodox Church, and eventually united Rultzven. Lastly, fair Phosophonedes took her husband and built their tribe in the north. Their people were known as the Phosphodnedites, who lived in wooden houses amongst the hills. It is believed that they were a cultural tribe who built many of the beliefs the Rultzvenian people later had. The earliest tales of Father Rultz are found in ancient Phosphodinian writings, some of them believed to have been written by Phosophonedes herself. They were conquered quickly by the united armies of the Kezhang to the north. Signs of their art remain, and regular treks are taken to this day to try to discover non-vodka artifacts. The three remaining tribes quarreled just as long as the siblings had long ago. They would occasionally unite to fight off the Kezhengy horde, but never being able to hold on to such unity for very long. Time passed, and they grew more civilized. They formed three separate city states, the Irrulyu creating the city state of Novlurad, the Tyugalites forming the state of Pskulgrad, and the Celemiyis forming Muskovitzia. Period of the Warring States Thus the three major states were formed, Novlurad, Pskulgrad, and Muskovitzia. Between them and on the borders of the city states were two tiny states: Yulid, a state made up of Phosphodinian refugees, and Layungrad, a merchant state. These states went to war often, with only the Yulid escaping most fighting. The War of the Icehills In B.N.E. 1671, Layungrad launched a massive invasion of Novlurad. Novlurad had already mobilized it's army towards the south, anticipating a war with Muskovitzia after a series of diplomatic faux pas, leaving its northern border with Layungrad exposed. The Layungradi people had spent time refining their cavalry, allowing them to move quickly through northern Novlurad. They crushed the small scattered Novluradi armies that were left scattered around the north as the armies of the south began pulling back up. Layulngrad had starved out most of the castles they had sieged, leaving them on the defense in the advanced forts of the Novlurad. After only six months peace was restored, with Novlurad ceding almost half of its land to Layungrad, bringing the merchant state into the eye of its city-state neighbors.